Go Local Australian Eyewear Designs that Rock

The local eyewear industry is alive and well with Australian designers coming up with new frame shapes and styles to meet the needs of consumers across the spectrum – from budget focussed customers and those who require safety eyewear for work or leisure, through to buyers of high-end brands and even tailor mades.

Here is a selection of what you could be stocking – and selling – right now.

Australian Designed Safety Eyewear
Eyres Safety Optics Eyres Safety Optics is an Australian owned specialist eyewear brand that is well established within the occupational and safety industry and becoming increasingly well known by optometrists – that’s because of the balance founder Michel Audry has achieved between creating eye protection and designing good looking pieces for the face. “It makes sense to push the sport / lifestyle aspect of the brand – one in five eye injuries that require hospitalisation occur at home and in sport. The rate of injury also increases on weekends and with remoteness, making eye protection much more than an industrial issue,” he said. Audry believes it’s time for optometrists to sit up and take note of this lucrative market. “Figures on the number of employees engaged in mining, construction and manufacturing are at around 2.25 million,” he said. “With the adoption of a new standard for prescription eye protectors in 2007, and with approximately 30 per cent of the population requiring correction eye wear in 2011, the prescription eye protector market is one not to ignore,” he said. Audry said he differentiates his eyewear from other safety eyewear on the market by ensuring it is independently tested and certified to Australian and global standards from the initial design phase through to completion, and then followed up with ongoing batch testing of optical and physical properties of the eye protector to ensure it continues to meet the requirements of the standard. It takes over 18 months from the conceptual design until assessment and compliance in order to be registered with an independent certified body. Mars Fashion eyewear has launched the Air collection, which is designed by Bonastar’s in-house team in Sydney’s inner city, and inspired by modern lifestyle and fashion. Contact: Bonastar (AUS) 02 9310 1688 Paul Taylor says his frame designs are inspired by “the people, the different characteristics and personalities he meets in life”. For example, he described the conceptualisation of a frame he calls Borgo. Contact: Paul Taylor (AUS) 02 9357 7190 Weye eyewear is hand made in Cairns by Frame Care Australia, a company well known for repairing frames as opposed to designing and making them… but that’s all about to change. Contact: Weye (AUS) 07 4032 4141 At only two and a half years old, Sunday Somewhere is a fast growing brand on the move. Founder and lead designer Dave Allison says his designs align with fashion trends. Contact: Sunday Somewhere (AUS) 02 6681 6777 Niloca’s Colin Redmond, is an industrial designer and who is involved in every aspect of his product – from the creative inception to the technical details and customer relations. Contact Nicola Eyewear: (AUS) 03 9077 5151 You don’t get much more Australian than Bill Bass or Jonathan Sceats. Both ranges are designed in Australia by the design team at VMD Eyewear. Contact VMD: (AUS) 07 5594 9845 Fritz Frames hand crafts just 10 frames each week from sustainable timber veneers and composites. Contact: Fritz Frames (AUS) 0448 799 873 When thinking about his frame designs, Simon Ponnusamy says, “I start by thinking of a look that I forecast will be an upcoming trend. Contact: AM Eyewear (AUS) 02 9357 4550 The shape of Lindos represents sass & bide's love of "the clash" and combining contrasting elements. Contact: Sunshades (AUS) 02 8303 7300 Speaking of her collections, Catherine Federici says, “the Isson design aesthetic is built on my 28 years in the optical industry, an essence of innovation and intrigue. Contact: (AUS) 02 9953 8440 he Kate Sylvester limited edition series and features layered Japanese acetate. Contact: (AUS) 02 9362 9990 *Contact: (AUS) 08 9325 2444*

Australian Designed Safety Eyewear

Eyres Safety Optics

Eyres Safety Optics is an Australian owned specialist eyewear brand that is well established within the occupational and safety industry and becoming increasingly well known by optometrists – that’s because of the balance founder Michel Audry has achieved between creating eye protection and designing good looking pieces for the face.

“It makes sense to push the sport / lifestyle aspect of the brand – one in five eye injuries that require hospitalisation occur at home and in sport. The rate of injury also increases on weekends and with remoteness, making eye protection much more than an industrial issue,” he said.

Audry believes it’s time for optometrists to sit up and take note of this lucrative market. “Figures on the number of employees engaged in mining, construction and manufacturing are at around 2.25 million,” he said. “With the adoption of a new standard for prescription eye protectors in 2007, and with approximately 30 per cent of the population requiring correction eye wear in 2011, the prescription eye protector market is one not to ignore,” he said.

Audry said he differentiates his eyewear from other safety eyewear on the market by ensuring it is independently tested and certified to Australian and global standards from the initial design phase through to completion, and then followed up with ongoing batch testing of optical and physical properties of the eye protector to ensure it continues to meet the requirements of the standard.

It takes over 18 months from the conceptual design until assessment and compliance in order to be registered with an independent certified body.